Police prevent people from protesting : Right2Know report

The criminal justice system is a hindrance to protests, a report by the Right2Know Campaign has found.

The report interrogates the nature of protests in South Africa.

“The police are trying by all means to prevent people from protesting. The problem with police is that they want to treat protest as a criminal activity,” says outreach organiser for Right2Know, Bongani Xezwi.

“This report shows how the right to protest has been undermined in South Africa. It speaks to the issue of bylaws that are implemented in different municipalities. The people sometimes don’t understand that people are exercising their right when they protest.”

Speaking on POWER Update on Monday, he says South Africans are afforded the right to freedom of expression and exercising their right through protest in a peaceful manner.

The bylaws, he says, include seeking permission to march and court interdicts to prevent people from marching.

“The attitude of police at a protest scene is about stopping the protest and unnecessary measures lead to violence.”

Xezwi says a violent protest is when there is a clash between the police and protesters.

“The police don’t see protesters as people who are exercising their rights. The problem is that there are no measures to hold the police accountable for their conduct.”

Burning a tyre while protesting is not violence, he says.

“The system has pushed people to blockade roads with rocks and burning tyres.”

He says such behaviour attracts the attention of authorities and the media.